OBERLIN — Students at Lorain County Joint Vocational School built seven stylish doghouses for display for the 2014 NARI Home Improvement Show presented by Sherwin-Williams.
The event takes place Jan. 23 through Jan. 26 at the IX Center in Cleveland.
The carpentry lab instructor and 34 students from the Joint Vocational School accepted the project through the National Association of the Remodeling Industry Mentorship Program, which forges relationships for placement in the workplace.
“It’s all about building relationships now so they (can) get a job right out of high school,” said Kathy Masterson, executive director of the Greater Cleveland NARI.
The mentorship program also encourages student involvement in home remodeling and general construction.
Under the watchful eye of Joint Vocational School instructor Ron Gresco, a former home builder for more than 28 years in Lorain County, the students divided into groups and built the doghouses in seven styles: traditional, gazebo-style pentagon, salt box, dormer, schoolhouse with a raised gable roof, barn with a gambrel roof and six-sided lighthouse with a solar light on top.
As a special touch, freshman career readiness students of instructor Eric Robson created a sign for the barn, “Mail Pooch, Treat yourself to the beast.”
Also, the salt box doghouse includes a wood shake roof.
Originally, the challenge was to build six houses in 10 days, which bad weather cut to seven days, Gresco said.
“We were told to build them for the average size dog, and the main requirement is that the finished product must fit in the back of a pickup truck,” Gresco said. “These guys know we’re under pressure, so they’re excited about it.”
Since the doghouses double as a fundraiser for the Cleveland Animal Protective League, the Joint Vocational School built a seventh one, Gresco said.
Visitors to the NARI Home Improvement Show may bid to buy a doghouse through eBay. Go to www.NARIHomeShow.com, click on attractions and features, click on the doghouses and bid through eBay, said Ed “Flash” Ferenc, publicity director for the NARI Home Show.
People with smartphones may bid from the showroom floor by clicking on a QR code found on each doghouse, Ferenc said.
Last week in the Carpentry Lab at the Joint Vocational School, the 21 juniors and 13 seniors added mind work to sawing and hammering on the doghouses.
“I get them started,” Gresco said. “I do pattern work for them. They have to follow the patterns. They have to do math for quantity and calculate the angles. And then they have to apply their skills for assembly.”
The students volunteered to style the doghouses, which presented some challenges.
The barn-style doghouse features recycled pallet lumber, Gresco said. Other siding includes exterior grade composite panel siding, and T-111, he said.
Some of the roofs are of asphalt shingles, Gresco said. Other roofs are of corrugated material, steel, or wood shake.
“It’s a lot different from conventional education,” he said. “The equipment they’re using here in the lab is pretty much identical to what they will find at the jobsite.”
Justen Hart, a junior from Elyria, said Gresco expects students to think throughout the project.
“When we come up with something,” Hart said, “we have to make sure we tell (Gresco) about it so there isn’t an issue with it.”
Pasha Stokes of Amherst, John Bond of Elyria and Jonathan Reynolds of Firelands figured angles and screwed frame sections to the base of a gazebo doghouse.
“We like to work together,” said Tristen Rindfleisch, a junior from Columbia Station, of a lighthouse group including Kenny Pais of North Ridgeville; Quentin Jefferson of Midview; Jason Fisher of Amherst; Daniel Heberling of Firelands; and Dana Burnworth of Clearview.
While Ryan Oberg of Brookside tapped a chisel with a hammer to make legs for one doghouse, other students cut insulation the size and shape of the floor for canine comfort.
“These guys know they’re getting recognized for their work outside of school and it means a lot to them,” Gresco said. “These houses will be their legacy. If they go past a house sitting in somebody’s yard, they can say, ‘I made that when I was 16 years old.’ They are super good kids. They all work hard. They like what they’re doing.”
On the first day of the NARI Home Show, the students will talk with contractors about the trades and build walls for a wallpaper clinic, Gresco said.
Tickets for the 2014 NARI Home Improvement Show presented by Sherwin-Williams cost $14 for adults. Youth ages 16 and younger are free. On opening day, seniors and active military personnel, admitted for half price, receive a free cup of coffee while supplies last.
Find discount coupons at www.NARIHomeShow.com and at all area Sherwin-Williams stores.